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Who Plays Young Cookie Lyon On Empire? Ajiona Alexus Brown

In the “Sin That Amends” episode we got to see young Cookie in action and she’s just as fierce as present day Cookie. When she sees Lucious and his crew performing Biz Markie’s “Just A Friend” on the block, she makes her presence felt with all the right moves. It’s love at first sight for Lucious!

Young Cookie Empire Ajiona Alexus

Actress, Ajiona Alexus Brown plays the Loretha “Cookie” Lyon on Empire flashbacks on the show’s third season. We love the show’s amazing team for introducing us to so many new talented stars. Ajiona is an actress and singer, best known for her role as De’anna on The Rickey Smiley Show. The Alabama native has a substantial amount of pressure on her with Taraji P. Henson setting the bar very high.

Ajiona was born on March 16, 1996 in Tuskegee, Alabama. She moved to Birmingham when she was 3-years-old. In past interviews, Taraji P. Henson has reminded us that she’s a professionally trained actress thanks to Howard University’s Department of Theatre Arts. Similar to Henson, Alexus has years of professional training and experience.

Who Plays Young Loretha Cookie Lyon On Empire? Ajiona Alexus

Ajiona began acting in theatre plays when she was very young. At the age of 8, she delivered her first monologue on stage. Her parents noticed how talent their baby girl was and enrolled her in acting and dance classes. In the 7th grade, she became a student at the Alabama School of Fine Arts.

Portraying Cookie Lyon as a teenager will definitely lead to additional opportunities. The actress also loves rapping and performing spoken word. We would love to see a spinoff series based on the Lyon’s younger years. Ajiona will show the world Loretha Lyon before she spent those 17 years in prison and we can’t wait!